Despite indications that e-mail access to physicians increases patient satisfaction, only 6.7% of office-based physicians routinely use e-mail to communicate with their patients, according to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change. The report is based on a 2008 survey of 4,258 physicians (anesthesiologists, pathologists, radiologists, and residents and fellows were excluded).
Only 34.5% of survey respondents said their office was equipped to handle electronic communication about clinical issues with patients, and among them, only 19.5% reported e-mailing with patients routinely.
Barriers to using e-mail included lack of reimbursement and concerns about increased workload, maintaining data privacy and security, and avoiding increased medical liability. (A representative from the America’s Health Insurance Plan trade group was not available for comment.)
Avoiding e-mail did not necessarily correspond with an avoidance of information technology. The survey also found that 76.6% of physicians had electronic access to lab, radiology or other diagnostic tests, with 61.8% using that application routinely; 56.8% had electronic access to patient notes, medication lists or “problem lists”; and 42.2% had access to electronic prescribing tools.
Source: HITS
If you would like to explore using email as a form of communication within your practice, please feel free to contact us.
